Mt Albert town centre upgrade
Mt Albert town centre upgrade

Mount Albert town centre upgrade will revitalise the heart of one of Auckland’s older suburbs, celebrating its unique character while creating a safe, pleasant, lively environment that locals can enjoy and take pride in.

The upgrade is an Auckland Council and Albert-Eden Local Board joint project that will be delivered by Auckland Transport (AT).

Project overview

Mt Albert is a key transport hub with more than 2,100 people using public transport every day on top of the thousands of road users travelling through the centre.

Over the next 30 years, Mt Albert is expected to change significantly, so the new streetscape design seeks to acknowledge the past and create a legacy for the future by reconnecting the town centre with our maunga (mountain) - Owairaka Mount Albert.

The town centre upgrade will include:

More trees, landscaped garden areas and a pocket park on the corner of Mt Albert and New North Roads.

Better lighting and signage.

A wider, consistent footpath width through the town centre with new street furniture, and drinking fountains.

A new pedestrian crossing.

A raised cycleway, new cycle racks and improved connections through the town centre.

More bus shelters, seating and a wider footpath improving connections between bus and rail, including the Outer Link to the Western Line.

Better pedestrian access routes to the Mt Albert train station through new signage and footpath widening.

Cost

The project is funded by Auckland Council and the Albert-Eden Local Board with a total budget of $6.5 million.

Timeline

August 2014 - Mt Albert town centre upgrade incorporated into the Albert-Eden 2014-2017 Local Board Plan.

November 2015 - Public consultation on draft concept design.

February 2016 - Auckland Council concept design formally signed-off by Albert-Eden Local Board.

June 2016 - Auckland Council award Design and Build contract.

July 2016 to February 2017 - Auckland Council and AT finalise detailed design in series of internal workshops, consultation with Albert-Eden Local Board, a number of external stakeholders and the public.

December 2016 - Minor advanced enabling works; consultation on right-turn options from New North Rd into Mt Albert Rd; site inspections revealed an old concrete road layer which may need to be removed before new surfacing can be laid. If this is done, other utility providers may also want to upgrade their networks as part of the project.

Intersection of New North Road and Mt Albert Road: consultation and decision

After the consultation process, we chose to proceed with a right turn from a combined straight through and right turn lane on New North Rd in to Mt Albert Rd - option 1 during consultation. The right turn will be permitted at all times (not restricted to certain hours of the day). This option includes full length cycle lanes.

Mitigating traffic impacts

The traffic impacts of implementing this option will be mitigated by adjusting the traffic signals at the New North Road/Mt Albert Rd/Carrington Rd intersection as well as optimising the traffic signal phasing at the New North Road/Richardson Road intersection.

The New North Rd, Mt Albert intersection will be carefully monitored over a period of months during and after construction. This will include traffic speeds and volumes on adjoining local streets to assess any possible impact.

It’s possible that further mitigations may need to be considered, such as further optimisation of traffic signal phasing for different times of the day, additional signage or re-routing traffic that’s not destined for the town centre.

Any reduction in traffic volumes through the town centre as a result of the new Waterview Connection on State Highway 20 will further assist in minimising traffic impacts.

Independent assessment

Download and read the three independent studies that assessed the traffic impacts and potential mitigations for all four options from the consultation on the intersection:

Traffic impact on side streets as a result of banning the right turn into Mt Albert Road.

Final decision

Although the majority of respondents chose to ban the right turn, further investigation indicates that the option that best addresses key concerns is option 1 which retains the right hand turn into Mt Albert Road from New North Road and includes full length cycle lanes. We have taken a number of factors into consideration including traffic flow through the town centre, traffic impacts on surrounding local streets and making Mt Albert a great place to walk and cycle.